Wicked Kiss (Nightwatchers) (20 page)

Yeah, failed. I failed. Big time.

I sat down heavily in my seat, still staring at the mark.

“It’s only one stupid test,” Colin offered from behind me. Of
course he’d seen the grade. It was impossible to miss. An airplane would be able
to spot an F that big and red.

But it wasn’t just a test, it was a sign. The balance I’d hoped
to regain by coming to school today, to get back to where I belonged and felt
like I fit in...

Fail.

I tried to concentrate, but it wasn’t an easy task. With Colin
behind me, almost in the orbit of hunger. With others moving past my desk. With
the bitter taste of the bad grade in my mouth...it all fell apart.

At nine forty-five, my hunger ramped up from a low and
controllable level to a burst right off the charts.

It closed in all around me, stealing my breath, clenching my
stomach.

It was no longer a question of “if” I’d feed, but “when.”

I needed to get out of there as fast as I could.

Scrambling to grab my books and my leather bag, I rushed out of
my seat toward the front of class, toward the door, toward escape.

“Ms. Day?” Mr. Saunders looked at me as I zipped past him.
“Where are you going? There’s still fifteen minutes left in class.”

“Cramps!” I announced shakily. “Horrible, nasty menstrual
cramps! I need to go!”

He grimaced and waved a hand, while some of the kids in the
front row snickered. “Then go.”

I escaped to the bliss of the empty hallway, headed toward my
locker, no longer tormented by the thirty souls pressing in on me. I needed a
few minutes to get my head back together. To think clearly again.

“Samantha!” Colin called after me.

Oh, crap!

I searched the long hallway, looking for the best route to make
my escape. My heels clicked against the shiny linoleum. I needed air. I needed
to get out of there completely. I needed to finally accept that my life was not
what it used to be while I tried to pretend that it was, even for a couple of
fleeting hours here today.

I’d been fooling myself.

I didn’t belong here in my so-called “normal” life. And I
didn’t belong with Bishop and the others.

I was an outcast.

I wiped the tears from my eyes and kept walking toward the
nearest exit.

“Sam!” Colin grabbed my arm to bring me to a halt. “What’s
wrong?”

I turned to face him and shoved him hard against his chest to
push him away from me. “Stay back.”

He had the nerve to look at me with concern. And here I thought
he hated me. I wished that were true. “The look on your face when you left
class... I was worried.”

“I have cramps,” I offered weakly.

“Which is really gross, but I don’t think it’s the truth.
You’re upset about something.”

I hissed out a breath, studying his face as he, again, was
stupid enough to come closer to me. My hunger swirled, a raging tornado inside
of me ready to take down trailer parks and wreak havoc with anything that got in
its path.

“You hate me,” I reminded him. “I hurt you.”

“What happened to Julie made me realize something—life is too
short. I can’t hold a grudge. I know you don’t like me, not like I like you. But
we’re friends, still, right? You’re my friend no matter what happens.”

“You followed me from class. You always do that.”

“I wanted to make sure you’re okay.” His breathing had
increased. He’d taken hold of my arm again. Despite his words of understanding,
there was something in his gaze...something lost.

I knew what it was. A gray’s victim sought the gray who’d
kissed him. It was an unavoidable trap. Even my harshest, coldest words wouldn’t
be enough to keep him away from me forever.

I looked down at where he clutched my arm. “When will you ever
learn, Colin?”

“I know you don’t mean to hurt me. Just like with Julie—I
didn’t mean to hurt her.”

His scent was too much to bear. I couldn’t deal with this. I
needed to go.

“Colin...”

He took hold of my other arm. “Just give me a chance, Sam. One
chance. I think I’ll go crazy if you never kiss me again. Please. Just once. One
kiss.”

“Fine,” I whispered.

Then I pushed him up against the lockers and crushed my mouth
against his.

Chapter 19

I’d lost the fight a minute ago, but hadn’t realized it
till now.

No, that was wrong. What was I saying? I felt it. I knew this
was coming from the moment he followed me out of class.

He asked for this. He wanted it. Even now he groaned against my
lips as I began to feed on his soul.

As I kissed Colin, all I thought of was Bishop. It was his kiss
I craved more than anyone else’s. The only one I dreamed about, fantasized
about, wished for, hoped for. Bishop’s mouth against mine—after he whispered
that he loved me, despite our problems, despite everything that threatened to
keep us apart.

He was an angel of death and had been for a long time. He only
looked eighteen, but he’d existed for much longer than that. How could I ever
think I could be something more to him than a problem to solve, or an
inconvenient addiction?

I didn’t think. I’d hoped.

And I’d lied shamelessly last night. I didn’t want to stay away
from him. No matter what—

Snap!

The entire team was gathered in the
church.

“It’s a problem,” Connor said. “I’ve been
looking into it and I’m sure this is it. All the recent suicides—they’re
connected. There’s a demon loose in the city, one who escaped the Hollow.
Like the Source of the grays fed on souls, this demon feeds on hope and
happiness and the will to live. It drives these kids to kill
themselves.”

“You’re sure about this?” Cassie asked,
her beautiful face tense as she listened to Connor’s speech.

He shook his head. “Hell, no. I’m not sure
about anything anymore.” Connor usually had a quip or a joke for anything,
but today he looked pained. Concerned. “But I think I’m right. The suicide
rate in Trinity has skyrocketed over the past week. This demon is getting
hungrier and it needs more and more to sustain it.”

“Then we need to find it.” Bishop rubbed
his forehead. “Damn. My head—it’s killing me.”

“You okay?” Cassandra asked.

“Trying my best.”

“Who cares?” Kraven mumbled. He leaned
against a nearby pew next to Roth, his arms crossed over his
chest.

“You’re working too hard,” Cassandra said,
ignoring the demon. “Did you get any sleep after staying out all night
looking for that gray?”

“I got enough.”

“I doubt that. Not if you’re feeling this
way. I know you’re having trouble concentrating.” Her expression hardened.
“And would you stop doing this?” She pressed her hand against his torso. He
flinched.

“It’s none of your business what I
do.”

“It is my business. Show me. All the way
this time.”

He looked at her for a moment without
making any moves. Then he peeled his shirt off completely over his
head.

“Where are my five dollar bills when I
need them?” Kraven said drily. “Just do me a favor and leave the pants on,
okay?”

Roth said nothing, but gave Bishop a dark
look. Something in the demon’s eyes went beyond regular distaste.

Bishop looked down at himself and the deep
cut bisecting his abdomen. “It’s the only way I can keep my mind
clear.”

“You could get Samantha to help you,”
Cassandra said, her brows drawn together.

Bishop shook his head. “She made it clear.
She doesn’t want to see me again. And it’s for the best.”

Snap!

I hadn’t stopped kissing Colin, but the jarring mind meld had
managed to give me back a fraction of my normal clarity. I tasted his soul as I
devoured it, saw it in my mind—a ghostly shimmering ribbon—little by little,
leaving him and entering me. Feeding me. I’d nearly taken all of it when I
managed to push back against him and break off the kiss.

He slid to the ground. I hadn’t taken it all. Not all.

But I’d taken most of it.

I stared down at him with horror. Black lines branched around
his mouth and he looked dazed and pale. He made a sickly wheezing sound as he
gathered his breath. Immediately, I wanted to go back for more and it was by
sheer will alone that I stopped myself.

The lines faded and he pushed at the floor, trying but failing
to stand. “What happened?” He looked up at me. “Sam, why do you look so
upset?”

“Are you okay?” I choked out, tears streaming down my
cheeks.

“I think so. A little dizzy, but otherwise...”

“I’m sorry.”

“For kissing me?” A small smile appeared on his lips. “No
reason to apologize for that. It was amazing.”

I just shook my head, wiping at my tears. He seemed okay, now
after two kisses. Did a soul grow back or could someone survive indefinitely
with less than a whole soul inside them? “I need to go.”

“Where are you going?”

“Away. Now.”

“I’ll come with you.” He looked so lost, so alone—like he had
nobody. My heart wrenched, but it didn’t change anything. I needed to put
distance between us, for his own good.

“No, just...no, Colin.” I ran away from him straight to my
locker where I dropped off my books and grabbed my coat. I left right after
that, bursting out into the morning air. I was going to miss the rest of my
classes. At that moment, I didn’t care.

I’d lost it. And the worst thing this time—or
competing
for worst thing—was that my hunger hadn’t
been sated even a bit. I wanted more. Something was changing inside me, making
this even worse than it had been before. Before I could control myself, unless I
was in extreme conditions. But now...my control was slipping away at breakneck
speeds.

If it hadn’t been for that mind meld, I would have taken it
all. And that would have either changed Colin into another gray...or it would
have killed him.

I ran away from the school for a half mile before I finally
stopped, bracing my hands on my thighs, and took deep choking breaths of cold
air.

I’d told Bishop to leave me alone. Nobody had been watching me,
lurking in the shadows. Nobody was here to stop me. They were all at the church,
dealing with other problems.

I’d never felt so alone in my entire life.

But I couldn’t go home, which was exactly where I wanted to
go.

After what I’d heard in that mind meld, I knew I had to go
downtown. I had to find Jordan. She’d left school to find the model scout who’d
touched Julie, inspecting her as a potential model. After that, Julie’s mood had
plummeted. Jordan thought that the woman had something to do with that—that her
touch had messed up Julie’s mind and driven her to kill herself.

Eva might be an anomalous demon who’d escaped from the
Hollow—just as Natalie had. Instead of souls, she fed on good emotions, leaving
only the bad ones behind. All the suicides in the last week could be because of
her.

And Jordan was going to confront her.

I had to do something. I couldn’t stand back and let her get
hurt.

I checked the phone book to find Divine Model Management. Then
I hopped on a bus to get downtown as fast as possible. I entered the building,
scanning the area for any sign of Jordan, but she wasn’t there.

The agency’s office was on the fifth floor. I considered
leaving, going to the church and trying to find Bishop to tell him, despite my
harsh words—and his—last night. This wasn’t personal. This was business. And I
knew he could do something about it. Beyond that, I missed him more than I
thought possible. Seeing through his eyes in the mind meld only made that fact
impossible for me to ignore.

However, Jordan didn’t have that kind of time. I had to do this
on my own.

I took the elevator up to the fifth floor. The agency was
large, with dark hardwood floors, lots of glass and silver. The logo was on the
wall in large, shiny letters.

“Yes?” The receptionist greeted me from behind the tall, red
desk.

“I’m looking for...” I scanned the waiting room, but nobody was
here except for me. “Eva?”

“What’s your business with her?”

I scanned my mind for a lie good enough to get me past this
gatekeeper. “She gave me her card at the mall, told me to stop by.”

The receptionist’s gaze moved over me skeptically. I did my
best not to look guilty or like I was a big liar.

“For our petite division?” she asked.

I could pretend to be an aspiring model. Sure, I could. “Um,
yeah.”

She still didn’t look all that convinced. But she picked up the
phone and pecked in a couple numbers. “Eva? There’s a...” She looked at me.
“Name?”

“Samantha Day.”

“There’s a Samantha Day here to see you. Says you gave her your
card?” There was a pause, and the receptionist looked at me. “She doesn’t
remember you, but she says to go on in. Third office to your left.”

My mouth went dry. “Okay, thanks.”

I walked down the hall nervously. I had to remember that I
wasn’t helpless here. I was a nexus, and if she was a demon then I could deal
with her. I’d read her mind to get the truth. I could defend myself with my
zapping ability. And the skirt made accessing my new knife a lot easier. I slid
my hand over its reassuring shape.

I stopped at the door, which opened in front of me. The woman
I’d seen at the mall gave me a once-over. She was definitely middle-aged, with
auburn hair, paler highlights and, although I was no expert on the subject, she
wore a designer suit that easily could have been featured in a Vogue spread.

“I didn’t give you a card,” she said. “I remember
everyone.”

“Where’s Jordan?” I asked, my throat tight. I wasn’t playing
this game any longer than I had to.

She frowned. “Jordan?”

“Jordan Fitzpatrick. Redhead. Way taller than me.” Although
that might not help pinpoint someone in a place like this. “Was she here
earlier?”

“Oh, right. Jordan.” She shook her head. “I was very sorry to
hear what happened to her friend. Your friend, too, right? Such a shame.”

“Was Jordan here?” I asked again, firmer. I swept my gaze over
her from head to foot. It was so hard to tell if she was a demon. I couldn’t
exactly ask her to lift up her blouse so I could see her imprint. And she wasn’t
making direct eye contact with me.

She patted her hair in its perfect chignon. “She stopped by
earlier, but she’s gone. Wanted to ask me a couple questions. Seemed so upset.
Poor kid. I tried to help, but I couldn’t do much, I’m afraid. Look, Samantha,
I’m very busy. I’m about to head out to do a sweep for new talent. We’re looking
for girls for a last-minute show at the Trinity Mall this weekend. It could be a
onetime thing for you to try it out.”

“Modeling?” I eyed her warily.

She looked at me curiously. “Well, of course. This
is
a modeling agency.”

“I’m not a model.” Last time I checked, super short and lacking
model looks seemed to be a big deterrent in that particular industry.

Her curious expression turned confused. “Then what are you
doing here?”

“Looking for Jordan.”

“Right. Well, she’s gone. I figure she’d headed to school.”

I moved a little so I could look into her eyes. Deep into them.
And I accessed that part of me that allowed me to read the minds of demons. It
was part of what made me dangerous as a nexus—the unspoken truths of a
demon...or an angel...could be used against them. The secrets of Heaven and Hell
lay just behind their gazes. That was what I’d use to find out who she was, what
she wanted and what had really happened with Jordan.

However, there was one problem.

I couldn’t read her mind.

And there was no wall there to stop me. There was
just...nothing.

She wasn’t a demon. She was human.

A man walked down the hall.

“Joe,” she called to him, moving to the doorway. “Listen, it
was a great breakfast meeting. Let’s do it again soon, okay?”

“Sure thing, Eva.” He grasped her hand and shook it firmly.

She didn’t devour his emotions, leaving him a suicidal wreck.
Of course not. This woman was one hundred percent human.

Jordan was wrong. She must have figured that out herself and
headed back to school.

I let out a huge, shaky sigh as relief washed over me.

“I have to go,” I said.

“What about the show?” Eva asked.

“I’m not interested, sorry.” I escaped from Divine Model
Management as fast as I could. My heart pounded hard, but my previous anxiety
lifted. I’d honestly thought something bad had happened to Jordan on her search
for the truth.

While she wouldn’t have gotten the answer she needed, my
nemesis would still be breathing. Who knew I was so concerned with her
well-being?

With a lighter heart and renewed optimism that this was a sign
of better things to come, I headed to the bus stop, turning at the corner up
ahead.

“Samantha,” a familiar voice greeted me.

My breath caught and I pivoted to see Stephen standing there,
as if waiting for me.

“You...” I managed, shocked. Seeing him gave me a rush of
conflicting emotions—happiness that he was still alive, and wariness...that he
was still alive. He’d been so sure last night had been it for him, that he’d
been going into stasis, that he’d convinced me, too. “You’re okay. I thought
last night... I—I thought I’d never see you again.”

“Yet, here I am.” He drew closer. He wore a knee-length black
wool coat that matched the color of his hair. His cinnamon-colored eyes scanned
the street before they fell on me. A few cars went by. “I have something for
you. Something you need. And it’s time I gave it to you.”

My soul. He had my soul and he was finally going to give it
back to me!

“Thank you, Stephen,” I said, my throat tight. “Where is
it?”

“This way.” He nodded to a car around the corner, parked at the
side of the curb.